Playful Parenting…A Powerful Blend

We took care of this ADORABLE, sweet little lady recently.  She’s a school friend and neighbor of Maya’s who is only seven.  She’s a real cutie with bright, red hair, button nose and as shy as can be.  We’ll call her Abbie.  It took time for her to warm up to us but she’s come around so she likes to come hang out with us and sleep over occasionally.  Her mom was ill this past week, so we watched over her for a couple days.  Ernesto mostly entertained them with movies and meals out while I was working or tending to ‘important’ tasks.  Conveniently, he ended up with the bulk of the responsibility but let’s not get into that now 😉  So my husband likes to sing.  He sings to everything.  If you say “Honey, can you bring me a glass of water”…he’ll proceed to sing your words.  It’s pretty funny actually.  He doesn’t even realize he’s doing it.  Abbie and Maya were playing UNO in the living room, appearing to be intently into the game.  All of a sudden, this shy little freckled, carrot top blurts out, “Will you PLEASE stop singing.  It’s hurting my ears!”  This completely caught me by surprise.  I’m usually pretty easygoing with Maya’s pals, but this was a little harsh, even for my better-half who’s really just a big clown.  I firmly tell her it’s not polite to speak that way to anyone’s parents.  Ernesto brushes it off.  Later, she hears my husband eating breakfast and jamming to his metal music (he calls it progressive) with our “Alexa Echo” hands-free stereo system which is simply the coolest gadget.  Maya’s musical tastes have become quite diverse thanks to this blissful electronic.  Abbie stomps into the kitchen with arms folded, staring directly at him with a snarl.  “Why do you like Rock music?”  He answers “Why do you like the music you like?”  She looks at him confused.  He changes the question, “Why does your mom like the music she likes?”  She replies “My mom likes country music.  We ONLY like country music.”  He explains that everyone has different tastes and we should learn to appreciate others’ preferences.  Expressionless, she turns around and walks away, returning back to her game.  Later, I’m sitting at the kitchen table chatting with Ernesto.  Abbie walks in and hears him talking about the “Angry Birds” movie they all saw the day prior.  Very matter of fact, she corrects him regarding a funny scene.  He chuckles and says “Yeah, I’m discovering that she likes to correct my mistakes” and she responds sarcastically “Yeah and he sure makes ALOT of them.”  I think, okay this ‘seemingly shy’ little spitfire is cute but getting just a bit too comfortable for my taste.  At that point, we could either shrug it off or continue to preach proper etiquette for 20 minutes on how to behave around other adults.  We decide to leave it alone.  At home, my husband is this wildly animated, glorious goofball who loves to be silly and horse around with Maya.  It’s a constant comedy show, however Maya knows her boundaries.  Our consensus is that Abbie observed my husband’s silly antics with Maya over the 2-day period, so she saw him more as a peer, a buddy…than a parent.  For a second he started to question this behavior wondering if he should revert back to serious parent mode, but I reminded him that Maya’s charismatic, playful, fun personality is a direct product of his silliness.  My own dad was (and is) as goofy as they come and I would never have changed a thing!  Because of my dad, I broke out of my shyness, to be comfortable in my own skin and not take myself so seriously.  I got along with most everyone, both children and adults, because I was very easy-going and relaxed.  I applaud Ernesto for molding our child into the spunky, young girl that she is who is fun-loving, kind and adapts to all situations.  Never stop laughing and embrace your silliness with pride.  Thank you for reading!